Meg O'Day, a stuffed chicken that was a former egg-laying champion, was featured on the cover of the Philadelphia Bulletin's Discover magazine on Feb. 25, 1979. / Staff photo/Charles J. Olson

Gus Stern, the former owner of Meg O'Day, now a stuffed chicken that was a former egg-laying champion, is seen in a photograph from an egg-laying contest in Flemington in 1957. / Staff photo/Charles J. Olson

Stern said the chicken was on display briefly in 1979 at the museum, which had been founded three years earlier at a different location.

Stern said chickens live for about 2 years but Meg beat the average, carrying on for another six months. The death actually was untimely — Rutgers University scientists took her for study.

Stern, who used to pack eggs at the family’s hatchery, thinks the chicken she knew as a young girl looks a little worse for wear now.

Of course, in the words of her father she said, ‘She worked her tail off.’”

The egg industry is long gone from Vineland and its history largely forgotten outside of those whose families were part of it. In 1957 though, it was an important industry and poultry operations looked for ways to promote their products.

Meg came to the public’s attention thanks to a competition to find the most prolific egg laying hens. Rutgers University oversaw the competition, and Meg won the title going away.

The chicken not only broke the record for consecutive days of laying eggs but over 12 months deposited 362 eggs. The record still stands, Stern said.

“Chickens usually lay about 240 eggs a year,” she said. “That’s a really good chicken. As she began to break the record — like 240, 300 — then she started to hit the papers. They would do weekly articles. It got to be a big thing. That’s when she got the name ‘Meg O’Day.’”

Pingle said the bird is headed for the third floor of the museum, which opened in late 2010. That area of the museum is dedicated to telling the story of immigrants, Jewish and otherwise, and farmers.

You will automatically receive the TheDailyJournal.com Top 5 daily email newsletter. If you don't want to receive this newsletter, you can change your newsletter selections in your account preferences.